Centre of Ceramic Art volunteer Lisa Grabowski, reflects on working with clay with families at the Ceramic Art York festival.

Lifting the lid off a box of fresh clay, a time capsule was opened. That familiar smell, the grey, clammy texture, the chalky residue powdering my hands. I was transported in an instant back to childhood. My first adventures in ceramics. Squishing clay between my fingers and under my nails, texturing the surface with hands and tools, pushing the material to its limits as I rolled out infinitely thinning coils. Proudly taking my work home to show my family my new creation.

It was Sunday afternoon of the Ceramic Art York weekend, a combination of seller’s fair, talks, demonstrations and creative events put on jointly by the Craft Potters Association of Great Britain and York Museums Trust. I had volunteered to help out in the Studio with family craft activities based on fish motifs, a nod to Leaping Salmon Vase by Bernard Leach and other ceramic works throughout the gallery’s collections.

 

At first shyly hanging in the doorway, a young couple entered the Studio wondering what the space was. I showed them around and explained the three activities available – painting a ceramic fish, colouring in a coy pond design and modelling with clay. The man’s eyes lit up. “I want to have a go with the clay!” he exclaimed, excitedly sitting down and getting stuck in. His partner quickly followed suit and before long, we were chatting away, modelling aquatic creations with the clay.

More visitors came through the door, curious to see what was going on. Again, the excitement was tangible. “We haven’t used this stuff since school!” they all declared, laughing at fond memories, quickly recalled. We were soon a small group, crowded round the table, encouraging each other’s progress, giggling at our failings, marvelling over our creativity. Like at school, we joked, teased, shared stories, got competitive and became frustrated when the clay wouldn’t yield to our bidding. But there was not a child among us.

As the afternoon went on, the group dispersed and some families started to appear. The children bounced from one activity to the next, energetic in their wish to try everything. Immediately. The excitement of new experiences filled the room. Parents engaged their children in the activities, imparting advice, techniques remembered from youth. Some took to colouring in, meditating in the calm of concentration.

As the session came to a close, I had time to reflect. The desire to play, create and explore lies in all of us. It is not a frivolous fancy that should be condemned to childhood, packed away like the clay in the box, put out of reach and forgotten about. Nor is it purely the passion of the artist, garreted away in their studio. Young, old, artistic, practical minded, our lives can be greatly enriched if we just have a go.